1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an operating device and an operating system, which can be used to operate various apparatuses (a vehicle navigation apparatus, an audio apparatus, an air conditioner, a television apparatus or a back camera or the like) that are installed in, for example, a vehicle, and do not require a large space for a placement.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, various apparatuses are installed in a vehicle. An operating device that has switches or buttons or the like for operating those apparatuses is placed in the vicinity of a driver seat, for example, in an instrument panel and the like. However, in association with the increase in the apparatuses installed in the vehicle and the increase in the functions of the apparatus, the larger number of the switches and the buttons and the like are required to operate the many functions. Thus, there is a problem of a lack of placement space. Hence, the operating device is requested in which the many functions can be operated by using the small number of the switches.
On the other hand, the operating device, namely, a so-called dial switch is widely used in which the function can be operated when a user rotationally operates, for example, a rotating body of a disc type. The dial switch can be used, for example, to adjust the sound volume of the audio apparatus or adjust the temperature of the air conditioner. Also, the dial switch is designed such that, when the user carries out the rotational operation, click feeling is generated in association with the rotation of the rotating body, in many cases. This design leads to a merit that the user can intuitively know the rotation amount of the rotating body.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-260949, a rotating type switch is proposed which can generate the click feeling and can be easily assembled. This rotating type switch comprises a moving member that is rotatably attached to a fixing member and rotated by an external operation, and an annular receiver in which a plurality of clicking concaves are formed opposite to the fixing member at a predetermined pitch is provided in this moving member. Also, in the fixing member, a holding member having a ball engaged with the clicking concave is provided in the portion opposite to the annular receiver of the moving member so that it is pushed against the clicking concave by a spring. Thus, the click feeling can be generated by the engagement between the clicking concave and the ball ball.
In order to solve the problem of the lack of the placement space as mentioned above, the operating device with which the user can use one dial switch and operate a plurality of functions begins to be considered and actually used. For example, the operating device for operating the air conditioner can be configured such that this comprises a switching switch for switching the respective modes of “a temperature adjustment”, “a wind quantity adjustment” or “a wind direction adjustment” or the like together with the dial switch, and the user, when operating the switching switch and switching to any of the modes and then rotationally operating the dial switch, can adjust the function corresponding to each of the modes.
However, in such an operating device, conventionally, the click feeling associated with the rotational operation of the dial switch was constant, and even if the switching switch was used to switch the mode, the click feeling could not be changed. Thus, there was a problem that the good operability could not be obtained, because the click feeling generated when the user carried out the rotational operation was equal between the case when the adjustment such as the temperature adjustment and the wind amount adjustment was carried out at the many stages of 10 or more stages and the case when the adjustment such as the wind direction was carried out at several stages.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-222003, an operating unit is provided which can select and operate a desirable equipment from a plurality of electronic equipments and also change the click feeling correspondingly to the selected equipment. This operating unit is configured such that, when a push button is pressed and operated, one end side of a spring body rotatably supported on a center is pushed down to push up the other end side, and an upper spherical portion of a ball arranged on the other end side of the spring body is brought into contact with the bottom surface of a disc member on which click grooves are formed. The disc member is arranged coaxially with an operational knob for the rotational operation. Then, when the ball of the spring body and the click groove of the disc member are brought into contact, the click feeling is generated in association with the rotational operation of the operational knob. Moreover, this comprises: a plurality of push buttons correlated to the selections of the respective equipments; a plurality of spring bodies that are pushed down to the push buttons, respectively; and a plurality of disc members to which the balls provided on the respective spring bodies are brought into contact, respective, and this is configured such that the numbers or shapes of the click grooves on the respective disc members are different. Thus, the click feeling generated when the operational knob is rotationally operated can be changed for each equipment targeted for the operation.